


The Power of Death

by lovelyheartache



Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, The Wicked Powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2019-09-16 01:56:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16944789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelyheartache/pseuds/lovelyheartache
Summary: The Wicked Powers. Ty and Kit meet for the first time since shit went down in Alicante. Ghost Livvy. Thule. Thule!Jace. Need to save the world. Dru and Jaime and Ash and other various characters.





	1. The Scholomance

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ QUEEN OF AIR AND DARKNESS  
> Don't read this until you've finished QOAAD!!
> 
> Literally just me writing something to try to hold it together for the next four years until The Wicked Powers series begins. The Queen of Air and Darkness ending (regarding Ty and Kit) was too much and I need an outlet for my feelings. I started writing and I couldn't stop and then I realized I was writing fan fiction FOR THE FIRST TIME!  
> I'm very excited for this journey pray for me.
> 
> follow my tumblr: [@kittyswatch](https://kittyswatch.tumblr.com)
> 
> [kitty playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/thehaohaochen/playlist/13ATIXVAe9yUPm0Z4veM9E?si=6LUMviLzRSWyeJytiKBIOw)

The Scholomance was bright this time of year, the trees in the library shining with the golden light of the sun, leaves falling down in all its autumnal glory.

Kit had almost refused to come, and still wasn’t exactly happy he was here, but he couldn’t help but admit that the library was beautiful. The books needed dusting and the ground was littered with leaves, but it was almost like a forest. Kit loved it.

Tessa and Jem brought Willa, because she had cried and refused to let Kit leave without her. Now, she was attempting to climb the trees unsuccessfully.

Kit smiled to himself. At almost three years old, Willa was a spitfire. Her eyes were a luminous gray like her mother’s, searching and curious. Her hair was all Jem, black and dark and straight. Kit almost found it surprising how quickly he came to love this family of his, except it wasn’t surprising at all. They had taken him in when he was hurting, had built him a home not out of desperation but out of love, and he couldn’t be more grateful. His was the first face Willa had seen, save Tessa and Jem’s.

* * *

 

The Shadow World was still teeming with tensions, with Idris having been closed off for three long years and counting. Alec, who was still the consul of the New Clave, was doing everything he could to fix the situation, but it was continuously to no avail. Zara refused to see anyone outside Idris, and the wards were still up.

Still, Kit couldn’t say that he wasn’t happy. Life was great, for someone who had never had much prospects anyways. Their cottage off the coast of Devon was hidden from mundanes so Tessa could practice magic and Kit could train. They even went on vacations and took road trips. Aside from the occasional demon, life was quite peaceful.

At least, it was until three weeks ago, when everything changed. Kit was training with Tessa, her magic weaving in and around him, and his mind was blissfully quiet. Initially, Kit had hated training. Even when he was at the Los Angeles Institute, it had felt like a burden and an expectation he couldn’t match. Then, during the confrontation in Idris, he’d fought back the Riders of Mannan with his faerie powers, and it felt like yet another burden he couldn’t handle, especially when he literally fainted afterwards.

But training with Jem and Tessa’s expertise was different. They taught him more than just the physical aspects of fighting, but the mental ones, too. They taught him how to use his brain to his advantage, and to never raise a weapon unless necessary. Jem told Kit about his and Tessa’s pasts, and his addiction to _yin fen_. He explained how through all of that, it wasn’t his body but his mind and soul that kept him alive. Tessa told Kit about her shapeshifting abilities, and how to her it had always felt like a physical burden and a curse; how for a long time in her youth, she was never sure whether the girl looking back in the mirror was her. She explained how she came to accept and embrace this ability, and how it opened doors for her she never thought could open. Kit knew what she had meant to do in telling him this. She wanted him to realize that though his faerie lineage was just as much a part of him as his Shadowhunter lineage was, his powers didn’t control who he was or who he could be. It was nice that she cared.

He hadn’t been able to summon his faerie powers since that day, though. These days, Kit found he loved the sensations of fighting, the exertion and release that it represented. He loved the thrill of hunting demons, wind in his hair and fresh air in his lungs. Fighting made it easier to forget his past and the wave of hurt that came with thinking about it.

* * *

 

Three weeks ago, however, Alec and Magnus had come to their cottage to tell them the bad news, and Kit had no choice but to spill all the secrets he had carefully buried next to his broken heart.

Apparently, on a routine mission to Faerie, Jace and Clary had discovered the Seelie Queen harboring fugitives. Not just any fugitives, but Sebastian Morgenstern’s son Ash and Jace Herondale from Thule. Thule was the alternate universe Julian and Emma had gone to in Faerie three years ago during the war. Kit didn’t know any of this firsthand, he had only heard about Thule from the Blackthorns three years ago, and now from the various adults coming in and out of the cottage to find out how this could possibly have happened. Jace and Clary hadn’t gone into detail about their altercation with the Queen, but Kit assumed that it had gone badly, because they’d come back shaken and angry, especially Jace, who had a new hardness that Kit found unnerving. They had immediately let the New Clave know all this, but since then they hadn’t been able to return. Every entrance to Faerie was somehow blocked, which also meant that the portal to Thule was also inaccessible.

It was then that Kit remembered—and how could he forget—that the object from another world that Ty used to raise his twin’s ghost was from Thule. He remembered the look on Ty’s face when Emma had given him the letter, his own disappointment when Ty declared it wasn’t _his_ Livvy who wrote it. He remembered what Livvy had said when she came back. “I loved you, Ty, I loved you even when I was dead, but you have upended the universe, and we will all pay for it. You’ve ripped a hole in the fabric of life and death. You don’t know what you’ve done.”  
Kit had been haunted by those words for the last three years, and others. He remembered how he’d told Ty he loved him, and the other boy had turned away with not even a glance and claimed that without Livvy he was nothing.

After Kit thought about what Livvy had said, he’d gone outside with his sword and slashed at a few trees in frustration and anger. Then he’d come back into the cottage to tell the adults about what he knew. He told them about the necromancy and the plots, the night by the lake and the following morning when Livvy freed them from their bindings. Magnus was the only one who wasn’t surprised, and he had looked worryingly and pityingly at Kit when he shared the story. They decided it was probably a good idea to find Ty at the Scholomance and hear his account.

* * *

 

Magnus then pulled Kit aside to talk, which were probably the worst five minutes of his life, including the time his father got eaten by a demon and Livvy’s ghost was raised from the dead.

“Kit, I know better than anyone else how much he hurt you. Not to mention how he felt abandoned after you left without any goodbyes. If you can’t do this, you don’t have to come with us.”

Kit had shrugged. This wasn’t any news to him. He had thought a lot about Ty over the last few years, especially in the beginning. But Ty couldn’t have felt abandoned for long, not with Livvy’s ghost by his side and the Scholomance to occupy him. “It’s been awhile. Plus, this has to do with both of us. It was our fault. I want to fix it.”  
Magnus looked at him then, with surprising seriousness in his cat eyes, and Kit had felt like Magnus was seeing through him, all the way back to the Herondales he’d known in the past, weighing his decisions against theirs.

“If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”


	2. Tiberius

So now, Kit was in the Scholomance library, basking in the unfiltered beauty of the place, wishing he had stayed home. Seeing Ty would only bring the long buried hurt back to the surface, and Kit didn’t want to think about any of it.

He watched as the library doors opened with a bang and Magnus walked back in with Ty at his side. Tessa, Jem, and Willa stopped their roughhousing at the base of the trees and made their way over to them. Kit had no choice but to walk over as well, studying Ty as he did. His hair was cropped short, the way that most Centurions cut it. He was taller now, even taller than Kit, who’d grown quite a lot since they’d last seen each other. He still had the same Ty energy, the same quiet grace and movement that belonged only to him. It was jarring, seeing Ty look so much the same as he did yet completely different. He no longer wore headphones, but was holding something unidentifiable in his hands, fingers moving back and forth. The gold locket that had once belonged to Livvy hung around his neck. Kit wondered where Livvy was, and whether she’d show up.

He stopped in front of them, and Magnus began to explain the situation. Ty seemed to become more worried as Magnus went on, fidgeting with the object in his hands. He looked more and more guilty and uncomfortable, until Kit felt that odd familiar feeling of protectiveness again, after all these years of pushing it down and hiding it away.

Nobody said a word when Magnus was done explaining, waiting for Ty to react. Willa was watching Ty like he was a cat she particularly wanted to pet. He looked guilty and hesitant, but said, “Can I speak to Kit alone, first?”

Kit looked shocked, but Magnus only raised his eyebrows and waved his hand, as if saying, “do what you wish.” Tessa and Jem shared an indiscernible look, then whisked Willa away towards the seats in the middle of the library to wait.

* * *

 

“You never said goodbye.”

Kit thought it wasn’t possible to be more shocked, but he was wrong.

“You wanted to talk to me alone just to ask why I didn’t say goodbye? After everything you just found out about Thule and Ash and dark!Jace?”

“Dark!Jace?”

“Well I don’t know, we have to call him something, and dark seemed pretty fitting. That’s not the point though!” Kit closed his eyes. He didn’t like this at all. He didn’t want to have _banter_ with Ty. He just wanted to help fix the trouble he caused. Ty blinked at him, like he was waiting for an answer.

“I didn’t say goodbye because it would hurt too much.” Kit didn’t know why he told Ty the truth, why he couldn’t just lie. Well, he knew why, he just didn’t like the answer.

Ty, for the first time since he’d walked into the library, looked surprised.

It reminded Kit of the look he had all those years ago when Kit had poured his heart out by the lake.

“You said you loved me.” It wasn’t a question, it was barely even a statement, but Kit felt the words strike a chord deep inside him. Ty remembered.

“That was a long time ago, Ty. If you’re wondering if I still feel that way, don’t. We don’t owe each other anything.”

“But I do.”

Kit stared. What part of his statement was Ty responding to? Did Ty mean—no, it couldn’t be. Still, Kit should have known that Ty would surprise him like this.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I owe you. You helped me bring Livvy back. And I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have done what I did and I shouldn’t have dragged you into it with me.”

Kit stared even harder. He wasn’t used to this new Ty. Whereas he used to be unable to look at Kit directly, Ty gazed straight into his eyes now, as if searching for his own words in Kit’s face. Kit thought about how to respond as he stared at Ty, who looked just as cherubic as he always had, but was now even sharper in his dark planes, almost angelic, black eyelashes shadowing his cheeks. Kit swallowed.

“You shouldn’t have.”

Ty nodded at this and continued.

“I mean, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have expected you to be okay with what I was doing. It was death magic.”

Kit thought back to the fifteen year old boy he once was, and how much he would have given to hear the very words Ty was saying right now.

“I guess time really does heal all wounds, huh.” Kit smiled ruefully.

Ty looked confused. “I was not wounded. Neither were you.”

Kit grinned at this, and thought maybe, just maybe, not much had changed after all. “I should probably also apologize for telling everyone what we did.”

Ty looked like an avenging angel, standing in his centurion gear under the halo of the sun.

“Don’t. You had to. We did something very dangerous, and it created a rift between the worlds.” Ty grew silent then, as if waiting for Kit to fill the empty space with words, words he couldn’t conjure up. He felt hot and cold and empty.

“So you’re okay, then?”

“We aren’t fifteen anymore, Kit. I’m fine.”

Kit looked at Ty, his body no longer all sharp angles and edges, his face no longer retaining traces of baby fat, and thought, _no, we aren’t_. Ty looked as if he was going to say more, but then Willa ran around the edge of the bookshelf and launched herself into Kit’s arms.

“Heya, Williepie.” Willa smiled angelically up at Kit, who set her down. She proceeded to jump over to Ty, grabbing onto his leg. “Willie, no—”

But Ty had already picked her up. He was gazing at her thoughtfully, as if wondering whether she’d understand the question he wanted to ask her.

“I like you,” Ty said to Willa, the three words heavy with meaning. “Do you know who I think you’re named after?”

Kit was about to interject, to say that yes, she was named after WIll Herondale, and yes it is just as weird as it seems—that Jem would name his kid after his wife’s dead husband who was also his parabatai. But Kit had learned not to question these things, especially when he could see clear as day the love and respect both Tessa and Jem held in their eyes when they spoke of Will. Ty beat him to it, continuing to tell Willa about the Herondale line.

“Will Herondale. I’ve read about him in family archives. The Herondales are an interesting family.” Ty seemed to glance over at Kit as he said this. “I’m technically related to you, you know. Your mother is my great great something grandmother, at least, according to the family archives. You see, I’m descended from Lucie Herondale, Tessa Gray’s daughter. You are also Tessa Gray’s daughter, so technically, you are my great great something aunt.”

Kit choked. He had never asked Tessa about her past, he only knew that she was married to Will and that they had two children, Lucie and James. He knew that Shadowhunters were basically all related, because there were so few left, and most had been too proud to marry Mundanes or Downworlders. Still, hearing Ty state these facts so plainly made him want to hug him and puke at the same time.

“Okay, this family bonding is nice and all, but I think we should go back and figure out what to do about the whole Thule thing. That is, if you’ve said everything you want, Ty?”

Ty, who had progressed from holding Willa in his arms to giving her a piggyback ride, nodded. “Let’s go.”


	3. The Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays, everyone!
> 
> Sorry this chapter took forever, I was soo busy with finals and shit, ugh.

As they walked back to the others, Kit could hear Willa speak to Ty in her soft voice, pointing to each shelf they walked past, saying “They’re pretty!”

Ty smiled at this in agreement. “Of course they are. They’re made from ancient woods, a combination of _Mimusops laurifolia_ and _Juniperus excelsa_ , forged into their beauty just as Shadowhunter weapons are.”

He spoke to Willa like she was any other person, adult or otherwise. Only Ty could talk to a child like she was an equal, Kit thought.

He was also surprised that Willa had spoken to Ty. Though she had always been an abnormally observant and alert child, she rarely talked to strangers, preferring instead to watch them curiously. Kit wasn’t sure what it meant that she had responded so quickly and warmly to Ty.

* * *

 

Tessa looked up first when they reached the adults, holding her arms out for Willa. Ty bent down to drop her from his back, then leaned back against the long, polished desk. He looked at the others, hooded eyes cast downward.

“Whatever Kit has told you is true. I used the other Livvy’s letter from Thule to try and bring her back.” Ty gave Magnus a slight and indiscernible look. “I made a mistake, and now I’m paying for it. So what can I do to help?”

Jem replied first with his usual soft and careful tone. “Well, first we have to understand what happened. Once we know for sure what ingredients and energy source you used, it can help us create a counter spell of sorts, maybe help us trace the letter back to Thule. It might also help to speak with Livia’s ghost, but that part is up to her. Ghosts can be very stubborn” Jem glanced around the room and smiled knowingly. He had the look that said he was thinking about the past, a look Kit saw often on both Jem and Tessa’s faces. Oh, the perks of living with one hundred and fifty year olds. “It’s all very experimental, though.”

Magnus seemed amused by the irony and remarked, “Well, I should hope so. Necromancy isn’t exactly common, you know, despite it cropping up all over the place in the past few years.”

Both Ty and Kit looked mollified and slightly admonished at this, guilt showing clearly on their faces.

Tessa quickly interjected, “Look, we aren’t blaming anyone, I promise. We’ve all made mistakes when we were young, and you guys had just been through unspeakable tragedies. Don’t blame yourselves too much.”

A spark of pain and deep seated guilt flashed across Ty’s face. He didn’t say anything, but looked touched by Tessa’s words. Watching him, Kit felt like someone had squeezed their fist around his heart. He wished more than anything he could go back and make the right decision, and spare Ty of all the hurt and regret caused by their idiocy.

It was Magnus who finally broke the palpable tension in the room.

“We also have to focus on finding a way back into Faerie, without any faeries’ help. It will give us leverage with the Queen if we should ever need it.”

Ty frowned. “What about the Unseelie King? What about Kieran?”

Tessa looked apprehensive. “How long has it been since you’ve talked to your family?”

“I haven’t spoken to anyone since summer, when I went home for three weeks. The Scholomance has prohibited contact unless absolutely necessary. They say it helps with training and learning.”

Kit didn’t think that was a very smart rule, but then again, if he had learnt anything about Shadowhunters in the past three years, it would be that they tend to make not very smart rules.

Tessa looked consoling as she replied, “Ty, I’m really sorry to have to tell you this, but we haven’t heard from Mark or Cristina for a month.”

“We’ve tried to reach out to Kieran, but neither he nor his court have responded. Since Jace and Clary have come back, all entrances to Faerie have become blocked. The entire New Clave has been looking for a way back into Faerie. Something is going on there, something dark and new and very dangerous.”

Kit was surprised at this news. “I didn’t know that.”

Jem diplomatically explained, “We heard back from the faerie envoy just before we arrived here that they couldn’t find the Unseelie King and couldn’t even get to Faerie. We didn’t want to cause any unnecessary worry or specululation.”

“Well, it’s not unnecessary anymore,” Kit said wryly.

* * *

 

If Ty was pained by the idea of Mark or Cristina or even Kieran being in potential danger, he didn’t show it. In fact, he looked calmer than ever, steadily staring at the wary faces before him.

“Then we must do everything in our power to find a way into Faerie. The Scholomance is the perfect place to begin. We have the largest collection of texts concerning the Shadow World since the Library of Alexandria. Meanwhile, I can go back to the Institute to grab a list of the ingredients I used to summon Livvy.” Kit narrowed his gaze at Ty, knowing fully well that they both knew exactly what he’d used in the spell. Kit, for one, would never forget. He’d have to find out later what Ty was planning.

“That’s a good idea.” Tessa smiled warmly at Ty. “You know Ragnor and Catarina, right?”

“You mean Professor Fell and Professor Loss?” Ty looked slightly bemused at hearing his professors’ first names, like he’d known they existed but couldn’t quite fathom why they were possibly needed.

“Yeah, I know them. Why?” He blinked at Tessa curiously.

“We could use their help, so Magnus and I have asked them to join us.”

Ty nodded absently. “Their help would be appreciated.”

Kit was slightly nervous at the prospect of interacting with Ragnor and Catarina.

He hadn’t seen Ragnor since his “help” under the guise of Shade back at the Los Angeles Institute, though Tessa and Jem often talked about him. Kit didn’t know if he wanted to thank him for making it harder to practice necromancy or punch him in the face for _not_ making it harder. He wondered if Ty had felt equally as nervous when he found out that Ragnor would be his professor. It didn’t seem like he was bothered, but he was probably used to it by now, and one could never tell with Ty, anyways.

Kit _had_ met Catarina a few times, though. The first time was the most awkward, but he’d quickly found that she was easy to talk to. Catarina was straightforward and kind, and so much less warlocky than Magnus and Ragnor and even Tessa, though she was very blue. She acted like a normal nurse, albeit slightly snarky. He had never seen her do magic, but he knew she mostly only used it to treat her patients. He still remembered the look on Catarina’s face when she saw Kit in Devon, a few months after Idris had been warded off. Tessa was very huge then, and Catarina was helping them set up for Tessa’s baby shower, at the insistence of herself, Magnus, and Jem. She had stared at Kit with a faraway look on her face, carefully covered wounds of love and regret and despair reopened. When she approached him, it was with a careful gait and bitten down words, as if she cared too much and couldn’t bear the hurt it would cause to reveal too much too suddenly. Kit hadn’t known much about her then, except from what he’d heard from Tessa and Jem. He knew that she was the one who saved his ancestor, Ephraim Loss, as his mother was facing death for the desertion of her husband. Kit knew all about the destruction that could be brought about by the ironclad laws that bound Shadowhunters, and it seemed like barely a thing had changed since Ephraim’s time. Catarina had spoken to him, though Kit knew that speaking to him caused her much more pain than she would have liked to admit. He always felt like there was nothing he could say to her that would be enough. _Thanks for saving my ancestor like, a million years ago and basically giving me my life. Sorry your adopted son gave way to a loser like me. Sorry there’s nothing I can do about Shadowhunter stupidity. Trust me, I’ve also grown quite accustomed to it._

* * *

 

“Alright, it’s settled then. Tessa and Jem can take Willa back for her nap and I can take Kit and Ty back to the Institute, while Ragnor and Catarina start the research.” Magnus smiled winningly. “Ah, there they are, our blue-green pair.”

Ragnor and Catarina walked into the library, Ragnor looking dour and Catarina looking slightly confused. Neither of them seemed excited to be there.

Ragnor’s dour countenance became, if possible, more dour. “I cannot bear with any more Shadowhunter stupidity. Is this about that blasted necromancy I swore would bite you in the backside, Mr. Blackthorn?”

His eyes bore into Kit, narrowing, then swung to Tessa and Magnus.

“Tessa, you remember Christopher Lightwood, don’t you? He exploded the entire Academy! You must know I cannot do this any longer,” he declared dramatically, falling into a chair and magicking a book toward him. Catarina whacked him in the head, and dropped into the chair next to him. “You say that every time, yet you’re still here. Do calm yourself. Plus, from what I’ve heard, Christopher Lightwood only exploded the west wing. Not nearly as bad as you make it sound.”

She smiled at Willa, who had dropped in boredom under the dark mahogany tables. She did look like she needed a nap. “Anyways, we are here to help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I am approaching Ty's POV very soon, can't wait ;))


	4. The Institute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update this year ;))
> 
> My apologies for being completely obsessed with warlock banter. I guess I just reallyyy like Ragnor and Catarina.

“So what’s the plan?” Catarina jumped up on the table casually, resting her feet on the nearest chair. Ragnor eyed her distastefully.

“Magnus is taking the boys back to the LA Institute, and you and Ragnor can get started on research here. Jem and I can help from home, but Willa is getting tired.” Tessa grabbed Willa swiftly out from under the table. “Aren’t you, my little willow tree?”

“Mama, what ‘bout Kit-Kat?” Willa dimpled up at her mother, eyes wide. Kit reddened at the nickname and Tessa laughed. “He’s going to Los Angeles, darling. The Institute will help them out with our problem, but you don’t need to worry about that. It’s your bedtime.”

Jem placed his hand on top of Willa’s dark head, smiling softly. He nodded at Catarina and Ragnor. “Thank you both for your help. I have not been very involved in Shadowhunter activity for the past few years, but this is one of the most uncertain and deadly threats I’ve seen this world face. The entire New Clave needs all the help they can get.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like there’s much else to do here other than teach rule abiding Shadowhunter whelps. Really, I should be thanking you for this distraction.” Ragnor glanced nonchalantly around the room. Magnus sighed and looked at Catarina as if maybe she could spout some sense. She shrugged, and said, “Ditto.”

* * *

 

When Ragnor and Catarina had finally been caught up and settled in the library, Magnus began to open a portal to the Los Angeles Institute. Magic swirled at his fingertips, blue and wispy and sparkling. The portal formed, swirling like a hurricane within.

“It’s ready.” He moved to the side to let Tessa, Jem, and Willa through. Tessa glanced back at Kit and Ty, looking concerned. She smiled softly at Kit, who waved at his family and blew a kiss to WIlla. She turned back to Magnus. “You’ll keep them safe.” It wasn’t a request, but a promise of sorts. It reminded both of them of days long past, when the London air was smokey and blurred, the clothes elegant and Edwardian. She had looked to Magnus the same way then, holding Jamie in her arms, gray eyes beseeching, hopeful, and despairing all at once.

Now, Tessa clutched Willa tightly to her chest and grabbed Jem’s hand, and the three of them stepped into the swirling contents of the portal, whirling away from the Scholomance and back to Devon.

* * *

 

Kit walked slowly over to Ty, who was hefting a large bag onto his shoulders. He leaned against as desk and asked, “Are you okay?”

Ty spoke sharply. “I’m fine. Not that you need to care.”

 _I wish I couldn’t care._ Kit grimaced and shook off his thoughts.

“So, uh, where’s Livvy? I haven’t seen her yet, and I should be able to.” He coughed uncomfortably. The entire situation was almost laughable. He _definitely_ would have laughed if he’d seen his older, dumpster fire mess of a self at fourteen.

“She doesn’t show up when I’m not alone, for the most part.” Ty was as unreadable as ever.

Kit cut to the chase. “What’s really going on? Why’d you want to go to the Institute? I know you remember what you used in the spell. There were less than ten ingredients and I don’t think you’d ever forget, anyways.”

Ty didn’t look surprised. If anything, it was like he had expected Kit to confront him about this. “I want to speak to Dru. The adults probably don’t want to get any of the kids involved, but Dru and Tavvy are smart, and they can help us if we’re at the Institute. Plus the entire family will be worried about Mark, Cristina, and Kieran, so I should be there for them. And I thought maybe you’d be more comfortable over there first, since you at least know the way around. You would, wouldn’t you? I wasn’t sure since you left the Institute after everything with Livvy. If you don’t want to go back, you can stay here.” Ty looked fifteen again, hopeful and unsure, and so devastatingly trusting, peering at Kit through lowered eyes.

Kit couldn’t bear to break it to Ty just how wrong he was. He did dislike the Institute at first, with its cold and alien vastness, but he had grown to love all its nooks and crannies and various rooms, especially his own. Kit had loved going to the roof, first with Livvy and Ty, then just with Ty. It was in Los Angeles, his original home, however much he sometimes wished it wasn’t. He had never hated the Institute.

“I didn’t leave because I hated the Institute, Ty.” His heart broke a little, looking at Ty then, with all his childlike innocence shining through.

“Oh.” Ty didn’t ask why he had left. Instead, he turned to the portal and Magnus. “We should go then.”

Kit jumped up and grabbed his stuff, just a bag with some clothes. Luckily, he had planned to stay somewhere—whether it would be the Scholomance or the Institute—for a few days. He checked his pocket for his phone, and pulled it out to see if Tessa or Jem had texted him. He saw a message from Jem, letting him know that they’d gotten back safely.

Magnus, who’d been waiting patiently up until this point, waved at Catarina to come over. “I’ll go in last, while Catarina keeps up the portal.”

“Why not Ragnor?” Kit wondered out loud.

She smiled cheekily. “Magnus hasn’t trusted him since he came back from the dead.”

“Oh, shut up about that already, if I hadn’t hid I’d have died,” Ragnor called from where he was seated. "Plus, Catarina is better with portals than I am."

"Oh thank you for that compliment, Ragnor. I'll savor it forever."

Ty, who was watching his instructors speak with a little confusion, said “Magnus invented the portal, along with Henry Branwell. I learned about that here, actually. And the battles at the London Institute for which the portal was created.”

Magnus looked surprised and almost a little nostalgic at hearing Ty spout what was probably a little known fact—the Shadowhunters didn’t exactly like advertising that one of their most useful devices was created by a warlock. “Henry was one of the most intelligent Shadowhunters of his era.” Magnus shook his head. “It’s a shame he wasn’t appreciated back then—or now for that matter. You know what Tiberius, thank you for reminding me to spread Henry Branwell’s—and Christopher Lightwood’s—legacies.”

Ragnor visibly darkened at the mention of Christopher Lightwood. “You mean the legacy of constantly exploding things? No thanks.”

Kit thought if he could choose to be any supernatural creature other than a Shadowhunter, he’d probably choose to be a warlock. Their lives were so full of history and knowledge and experience. Magnus’s past was especially intriguing, whenever he chose to speak about it.

* * *

 

Ty made his way over to the front of the portal, watching it shimmer into an image of the Institute. He glanced at Magnus in confirmation.

“Go ahead.”

Kit though it was rather like a water slide, what with the guard and the waiting for the slide—or in this case, a portal—to be ready. Ty walked through and disappeared. Kit walked up next, brimming with anticipation. Magnus gave him a thumbs up.

He took a deep breath, and stepped through.

* * *

 

The Institute was just as he remembered. Tall and looming, it cast a shadow over him even on such a nice, warm day. He walked up the front steps, watching as Ty opened the doors before him. Kit was brought back to the first time he saw these doors, the first time he ever opened them. He remembered the cold, empty feeling in him, the combination of fear and shock running through his body. He couldn’t be a Shadowhunter, he had thought. But then the door had opened for him and all he could feel was a debilitating dread. He remembered Ty sitting in front of his room, wanting him to be the Watson to his Sherlock. He remembered feeling like there was something wrong with him, to not be able to shed a tear at his father’s death, or care about finding his mother. Most of all, he remembered the three of them—Livvy, Ty, and Kit—running through the Institute, wanting to be a part of the mysteries, the politics. He remembered the little moments—Ty holding a weasel or a bird in his elegant hands, Livvy dancing down the hallways, laughing, Dru watching a horror movie in her room, the sounds audible through the walls. Even Tavvy, who was so small and needed Julian so much. They had all been so young.

Kit was shaken out of his ruminating by Magnus, who landed gracefully from the portal, which was already swirling inward behind him. “Come along, young Herondale. You have a past to catch up to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Kitty coming up soon, I promise. Also Ty's POV.  
> I've already written a few snippets, just waiting to stick them in somewhere.


	5. Blackthorns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ik it's been a while, but I'll be posting the next chap VV SOON and it'll be a guud one, promise

Kit pressed his palm against the tall oak doors, cold to his touch. The door gave away easily, and he stepped in, holding the door open for Magnus. Ty had disappeared, presumably into the library or his room or wherever his family was. Kit hesitated. Magnus gave him a sly look, one that said he knew exactly what was going on inside Kit’s brain. “Drusilla will be happy to see you. She might also hit you, so be prepared for that.” Magnus looked amused and immensely glad he wasn’t in Kit’s shoes.

Kit knew he should have kept in touch with Dru. They were friends at a time when they both desperately needed a friend, plain and simple. But he couldn’t bear to hear her voice or see her face, have her talk about Ty and the family and the brief life he’d lived with them. He was a wimp. “I know.” Kit could hear voices floating out of the kitchen, the soft chattering of a family at ease, which reminded him of home. It was pretty early in LA compared to Devon and the Scholomance, so the Blackthorns were probably having breakfast. Kit and Magnus walked in, and were met with a chaotically familial sight. Helen was sitting at the counter, reading correspondance. Aline leaned over her, eyes flickering from page to page, frowning slightly. Julian and Emma were eating pancakes, laughing and happier than Kit had ever seen them. Dru looked just like Kit remembered, round face open and smiling, wearing black overalls and a t-shirt with words he couldn’t make out. She was even prettier now, less like a child and more like the young woman she had pretended to be when tricking Barnabas Hale. Her hair was no longer short, but in two braids trailing down her back. Dru was cooking something, and standing beside her were two bobbing heads, one dark and one light.

Magnus didn’t look particularly surprised to see his eight year old son, Rafael, staring up at the stovetop, hands waving wildly. He had a pretty little face, and looked more controlling and demanding than a boy his age had the right to be. Next to him was Octavian. Kit felt a pang of sadness when he looked at Tavvy, who was so young, but had experienced the same horrors as his older siblings. Kit remembered him as a small seven year old, and he could still see remnants of that child in Tavvy’s light frame and thin face. His hair was a fine dark blond, streaked golden with the LA sun, but it was his slender stature and the calm way he held himself that reminded Kit a little bit of Mark. Kit had heard from Tessa that Rafe and Tavvy wanted to become _parabatai_  one day. Good for them. Right at this moment, however, Tavvy and Rafe had their eyes trained on the pancake sitting in the pan. It was bubbling oddly, but other than that, there was nothing strange enough to warrant such focus and attention.

Ty was nowhere to be seen. Kit cleared his throat awkwardly. “Magnus and I are, uh, here to help out with the current Shadowhunter crisis. Has Ty told any of you he was back, yet?”

All eyes swiveled to Kit and Magnus. The entire family stared at them in shocked silence except for Rafe, who gave his dad a quick “Hi, Papa,” and Tavvy, who stared curiously at Kit. Then they decided neither Magnus nor Kit were interesting enough and turned back to watch the stove. Aline finally broke the silence, giving Magnus a quick hug and inviting them to sit down. Helen put her papers down and rubbed her tired eyes. “What’s this about Ty being back? I thought he wasn’t allowed. Scholomance secrets and all that.”

“Yeah, he came in about a minute before we did. We’re here to investigate the faerie and Thule problems.” Kit snuck a glance at Dru, who glared at him, mouthing something he couldn’t make out. He hoped it wasn’t “I’m going to murder you.”

Aline responded, “Oh, we knew about that. Alec actually called us about it a few weeks ago. Obviously with the family’s involvement with faerie and Thule, it was important we know, and now with Mark and Cristina missing, well, we’ll help you guys with whatever you need.”

Helen took her wife’s hand in hers, an absent minded, familiar gesture. “I love you, baby.”

“CRISTINA AND MARK ARE MISSING!?? What problems with Thule!? How come Julian and I haven’t heard about this?” Emma looked murderous.

Julian consoled her with his usual diplomatic logic. “Ems, we’ve been on technology free vacation for the past three months.”

Dru also looked furious. “How come _I_ , who was _HERE_ this entire time, don’t know about it either?”

Helen looked apologetic. “We didn’t want you to worry, darling.”

Dru scoffed. “Uh huh, sure. Mark is my brother too, you know, and I’m old enough to know these things.”

Emma was sympathetic. “Someone should have tracked us down or something if Cristina and Mark were _missing._ And Thule! Jules and I can help, we’re the only ones who’ve been there.”

Magnus regretfully corrected them. “Actually, not anymore. Unfortunately, Ash, the Seelie Queen’s son, and Jace Herondale from Thule are in this world. They are residing in Faerie, but since we’ve found out, entrances to Faerie have mysteriously disappeared. We think Cristina and Mark may be stuck there, as well.”

Dru, who had gone back to silently glaring at Kit, said, “They’ll be fine, right? They have Kieran and they usually aren’t in Seelie or Unseelie lands. And doesn’t Cristina have that magical faerie device that can transport them between here and Faerie?”

“Smart girl. But we think that whatever blocked the entrances is also preventing _any_ travel between the realms,” Magnus responded.

“So basically what you’re saying is we’re fu—I mean, screwed over?” Emma asked. Julian smiled down at his former _parabatai_ , eyes twinkling at her almost swearing.

Helen tried to sound reassuring. “We’ve been through worse. All we can do now is help. Get up, all of you—yes, even Tavvy and Rafe, get away from the stove. Let’s find Ty and start the research.”

Tavvy and Rafe looked annoyed. “We were only seeing if Rafe could do magic, like he promised me yesterday. He said he could make the pancake inflate like a balloon!” Tavvy pointed accusingly at his friend and then at said pancake in the pan. Rafe only shrugged smoothly, a move he probably learned from Magnus, and replied, “I said _maybe_.”

The boys began bickering in the way that close friends often do, and Kit felt a pang of envy. He had always been a lonely kid—alone with his father, alone in the Shadow Market, alone even when he had been with Ty and the Blackthorns. And though he had found his family and his home in the Carstairs, in all that time he never found what Tavvy and Rafe had, he hadn’t found just a friend. Maybe he could have had all that in Dru if he stayed.

* * *

 

When everyone had dissipated to their respective activities, Kit slowly backed out of the kitchen, hoping Dru wouldn’t notice him leaving. He could see her t-shirt clearly, now. The overalls had slipped off her shoulders, and he could make out the words **EDWARD SCISSORHANDS** , surrounded by lots of bloody images and gore. Of course her tastes hadn’t changed after all this time. Alas, Kit’s hoping did not work, because she advanced towards him anyways. “DON’T think you can get away that easily. What the hell were you thinking, leaving without a goodbye and leaving me alone with my stupid family? Julian and Emma left, Ty left, and all I had was Tavvy and Helen and Aline. Do you have any idea how boring they are?”

Kit ran his hand over his face, embarrassed. “Nobody left you, Dru. They were all gonna come back.”

“But not you? Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She pushed her way past him and disappeared into the corridor. “I’m going to find Ty, don’t bother following me.”

Kit sat heavily in one of the chairs at the counter, and sighed. This was going basically exactly how he expected. Horrible. He looked up to find two pairs of eyes trained on him.

Tavvy chewed on his pancake, looking curiously at Kit. “You’re Kit.”

Rafe looked bored, still, and replied, “Of course he’s Kit. Everyone knows about Kit, the Lost Herondale, Willa’s brother, blah blah blah.”

“Yeah, well I remember I knew him but I don’t really remember him, you know?” Tavvy said.

Rafe shook his head. Clearly he _didn’t_ know, and didn’t care.

“I really don’t know. Hey, Kit, how’s Willa? When do you think we can visit again?” Rafe and Max loved to play with Willa.

“Uh, soon, probably. After all this sh—I mean, stuff, is sorted.”

Rafe looked like he was highly doubtful that this stuff would ever be sorted. “Fine. Let’s go.”

They left, and Kit was alone in the kitchen, wondering how he went from doing math homework in his basement to be known as Willa’s brother and the Lost Herondale.


	6. Three Things (and Kit)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so fucking sorry y'all, there is literally no excuse for not posting soon like I promised. Unfortunately, real life has a way of fucking you over, so that's that. Enjoy this chapter though, and know that I am not giving up on this story. Thanks to everyone who has read this and liked and commented, y'all are the sun and moon and stars.
> 
> -hc

Livvy had said to Ty, so many years ago in her letter, that he must learn to live without her. Not his Livvy, but Thule Livvy. Ty had always tried to keep a clear distinction between the worlds—between his Livvy, Thule Livvy, and ghost Livvy—but it was hard. He’d always functioned with clean, neat lines separating his life. He had likes and dislikes and he sorted those into subcategories of acceptable and not acceptable, Shadowhunter and not Shadowhunter, fact and opinion.

But Livvy, she was his glitch, in a box outside his carefully constructed boxes. She resided with her favorite pastel colors, her dreams, and her saber, comforting him and protecting him, if not by her actual presence, then by the knowledge that she would soon join him. They had never been separated. He knew they were as different as day and night, but she was the only person who understood him like her own soul, without needing to try like Julian had always tried, or being too young like Dru and Tavvy. They were twins, and twins just were, like the sun and moon and stars. Wasn’t there an old saying about how twins were just divided souls, taking up different bodies with the same essence?

He had tried so hard to convince himself when he was fifteen that those words did not belong to his Livvy, but he knew in his heart that Livvy—in any world—would have always uttered those very same words. Though the letter burned, her words had etched themselves into Ty’s mind and soul like an engraving on wood.

Sometimes, his heart ached for the Livvy in Thule, the twinless twin, because she was the one left behind. Other times, his soul yearned for his Livvy, the one who had held him back from Julian when he killed their father, whispering, “Julian had to do it, it was the only way, Ty, he loves you, he would never hurt us.” The Livvy who held her equally as chubby arms out to him before their first steps into the cold ocean, Ty wincing and moving back, Livvy laughing and running forward. The Livvy who had defended him from the Ashdowns. The Livvy who yearned to be like Julian and but also like Emma, strong and courageous and a caretaker, who faced the world with enough laughter for both of them, who protected him without any expectation for him to protect her back—and then she died, because he hadn’t been there to return her protection. Twins. What a lonely word, when it becomes twin. But in this world, Ty was left behind. He often wondered how Thule Tiberius had the courage (or was it audacity) to leave Livvy behind, to let her go and force her to let him go. He knew it had to be a nightmare beyond his worst possible imaginations. In the beginning it had felt like he was a compass without a pole, left wandering and twisting to find direction, and always, always unsuccessful.

Ty had only ever been sure about three things in his life, and they were the only three things he’d ever needed to be sure about. He was different. His family loved him. Livvy would always be with him. These were the thoughts that held him up through the best and worst times of his life, when he was almost separated with his family and when he was reunited with them.

When he was 13, Livvy had handed him a book without saying a word. It wasn’t like her to be vague or unclear, especially because Ty was Ty and she knew him like she knew her own self. He needed clarity. Even though she was acting unusual, he trusted her judgement and read the book. It was about autism, albeit an outdated take on it that Ty hadn’t realized was outdated until they finally got a computer and he used the internet to search up recent definitions and discoveries. He found out that the mundane world was far more advanced than the Shadowhunter world in so many aspects, but especially in technology and new ways of thinking. He wished they could understand, the Shadowhunters. He wished they could realize how very behind they were, so ensconced in tradition that they never poked their heads out of the sand. He was glad he had read that book, though, because otherwise he’d have spent his entire life believing that he was the only person in the world who felt things the way he did, forever alone. His independence had never really bothered him, but it was still comforting knowing that it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t fit in, but the Shadowhunter world’s, for living in ignorance and being generally unhelpful to Shadowhunters with diseases of all kinds, not just autism. This was how he realized he was truly, irrevocably different.

Then there was his family, who loved him, though he barely knew what love was. Only that it was like caring, but more and better.

Finally, there was Livvy. Livvy, who came with him into the world and would, as he always assumed, leave with him as well. He was wrong. She left much too early. But maybe it was this overwhelming conviction that Livvy could never ever leave him that sparked his mad desire to bring her back and succeed in doing so.

In the end, these were the three things that mattered, and the only things he was ever sure about.

Then he saw Kit, and he wasn’t sure about anything ever again.

Kit, who paid attention and asked questions and never got impatient, only more curious and more determined.

Kit, who looked like a Herondale but acted like a mundane.

Kit, who knew how to do everything that Ty had to force himself to understand, but seemed just as comfortable with Ty himself.

Kit, who was an enigma from the second Ty laid eyes on him.

Kit, who was in the Institute with Ty at this very moment and seemed vehemently not angry at him, unlike Ty had previously believed.

It was all very odd and confusing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaha this was basically a fuck it all I love Tiberius Nero Blackthorn chapter  
> No plot, just beautiful Ty-Ty thoughts all around  
> Hope you enjoyed <3


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